# "What if not Circuits?" by CarolusRenniusVitellius

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Podcast: [LessWrong (Curated & Popular)](https://stenobird.com/podcast/lesswrong-curated-popular-5643401)
Published: 2026-09-24T15:45:21+00:00
Episode link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2037297/episodes/19858829-what-if-not-circuits-by-carolusrenniusvitellius.mp3
Audio file: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2037297/episodes/19858829-what-if-not-circuits-by-carolusrenniusvitellius.mp3
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Duration seconds: 1659

## Resource

This post was written as part of the Iliad Fellowship. Inspired by conversations with Richard Ngo, Dmitry Vaintrob, and Brianna Grado-White. To all of these, my thanks. Preface: I'm confused about how neural networks do and learn computations. In response to a friend's challenge, I'm writing up some interim thoughts. This essay has four parts: the first tries to track what I call the 'default ontology' of the mechinterp community over the years. The second part is about 'representational ...

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